We got hit with some bad news this week.
So come July 11th, that's basically what we're gonna do. The original plan was to do something in the way of a satire "commemoration" of Vancouver once again being labelled a boring city. There was an article written about New York City in which the author made a quip about Vancouver (amongst a couple of other cities) being dull as shit.
Like a said, there were a couple other cities mentioned, but the Vancouverites got quite upset about this one, most likely because it rings true.
To poke at an open wound, we had planned to run 'The Safety Boring Show' - a night of bland entertainment and no surprises!
But... we nixed that idea.
I mean, how were we supposed to sell images like this picture of Neil and Melody Mangler as 'safe and boring'?
Although, I should mention that Vancouver is a very, very safe city. (I come from the prairies, and the racial tension, poverty, alcoholism and street gangs make my home town anything but safe.)
Living in Vancouver for the last five years has been a great place to pull my life together and get healthy... but part of that is because I can't afford to do very much! That's different than being 'bored' though. It's more like being frustrated. Or jealous, or hateful, or depressed, or in debt, or bitchy... many words which I find accurately describe a lot of the entitled attitudes that I come up against in this city of mine. ...
Attitudes that we're allowed to have because we live in a safe, politically correct, polite society where people are free to do what they want, when they want.
Which is great.
Until one becomes spoiled, and develops a crippling sense of entitlement.
Which, it seems, is hard to avoid.
But as many people who commented on Vancouver's lack of activities mentioned, the point of living here is to be near the mountains and the ocean. For a thriving arts scene it would be wise to go somewhere that caters to the arts, like Montreal, Edmonton, or even Winnipeg. Places that are cold, and hence have many indoor venues designed to alleviate the gloom that's cast on their subjects from hard months of frigid temperatures!
Here on the west coast we have little to complain about - no bugs, warm winters, good health care... what's there to be upset by? And without tension how do you get decent stories?
Liveable - sure. But being alive requires risk to appreciate the sanctity of what life is. You know how it goes, if you don't know how bad it can get, how do you know how good it is?
So I'm thinking that I should probably go get into some trouble.
Or not. Maybe I'll just continue to watch my cast of cretins be hilarious and amusing - they do a lot of funny things! Endlessly, actually. For example, on the first leg of our trip we missed the early morning ferry to Vancouver Island. Tired, agitated, and maybe a little hungover - while we waited there was time to hit up the shops by the ferry and get some breakfast.
On our way though the terminal, we came across a 'weigh station' and this happened:
Matt and Neil together are very funny. Both have a different sense of humour, which makes the dynamic between the two of them quite entertaining.
To end, I'll leave you with a series of photos (courtesy of ECC photography) that illustrate one of the acts we do with broken glass.
Not exactly safe or boring.
The woman in these pictures was a little upset by the attention she got being in the front row. That all changed to smiles when she got the chance to punish ol' Neil E. Dee.
See how happy she is!
A weekend tour to the northern parts of B.C. has been cancelled due to events that are out of our control. More problematic is that a main part of our show was lifted from the van.
We've been fortunate enough so far to not have our vehicle tampered with, but that changed last weekend when the swords were left in the van overnight - and a thief broke in and stole them.
Nothing else was missing. Only the swords.
Nothing else was missing. Only the swords.
I've taken a few walks through the downtown 'market' of stolen goods over the week, but have been unable to find anything. What's more, is the swords are adjusted to fit Neil's throat, and aren't really any good for their original purpose and hence no good for anyone else, making it unlikely that they'll show up in a pawn shop due to lack of resale value.
So here we are, ready to head back on the road, without one of the main acts.
The lesson? Don't leave valuables in vehicles.
The solution? A fundraiser show!
The solution? A fundraiser show!
So come July 11th, that's basically what we're gonna do. The original plan was to do something in the way of a satire "commemoration" of Vancouver once again being labelled a boring city. There was an article written about New York City in which the author made a quip about Vancouver (amongst a couple of other cities) being dull as shit.
To poke at an open wound, we had planned to run 'The Safety Boring Show' - a night of bland entertainment and no surprises!
But... we nixed that idea.
I mean, how were we supposed to sell images like this picture of Neil and Melody Mangler as 'safe and boring'?Although, I should mention that Vancouver is a very, very safe city. (I come from the prairies, and the racial tension, poverty, alcoholism and street gangs make my home town anything but safe.)
Living in Vancouver for the last five years has been a great place to pull my life together and get healthy... but part of that is because I can't afford to do very much! That's different than being 'bored' though. It's more like being frustrated. Or jealous, or hateful, or depressed, or in debt, or bitchy... many words which I find accurately describe a lot of the entitled attitudes that I come up against in this city of mine. ...
Attitudes that we're allowed to have because we live in a safe, politically correct, polite society where people are free to do what they want, when they want.
Which is great.
Until one becomes spoiled, and develops a crippling sense of entitlement.
Which, it seems, is hard to avoid.
But as many people who commented on Vancouver's lack of activities mentioned, the point of living here is to be near the mountains and the ocean. For a thriving arts scene it would be wise to go somewhere that caters to the arts, like Montreal, Edmonton, or even Winnipeg. Places that are cold, and hence have many indoor venues designed to alleviate the gloom that's cast on their subjects from hard months of frigid temperatures!
Here on the west coast we have little to complain about - no bugs, warm winters, good health care... what's there to be upset by? And without tension how do you get decent stories?
Liveable - sure. But being alive requires risk to appreciate the sanctity of what life is. You know how it goes, if you don't know how bad it can get, how do you know how good it is?
So I'm thinking that I should probably go get into some trouble.
Or not. Maybe I'll just continue to watch my cast of cretins be hilarious and amusing - they do a lot of funny things! Endlessly, actually. For example, on the first leg of our trip we missed the early morning ferry to Vancouver Island. Tired, agitated, and maybe a little hungover - while we waited there was time to hit up the shops by the ferry and get some breakfast.
On our way though the terminal, we came across a 'weigh station' and this happened:
Matt and Neil together are very funny. Both have a different sense of humour, which makes the dynamic between the two of them quite entertaining. To end, I'll leave you with a series of photos (courtesy of ECC photography) that illustrate one of the acts we do with broken glass.
Not exactly safe or boring.
The woman in these pictures was a little upset by the attention she got being in the front row. That all changed to smiles when she got the chance to punish ol' Neil E. Dee.
See how happy she is!
Comments
Post a Comment